Charles Allmond III, '53, '57M AG; Doris Hamburg, '81M AS; Mary Ann Hitchens, '67, '71M AS; Michael Lancellot, '78 BE; and Thomas Taylor, '68, '70M AG, were inducted in a ceremony at Gore Recital Hall of UD's new Center for the Arts.
“This is a proud time for the University of Delaware, and I am pleased that the recipients have returned to campus today for this ceremony recognizing their numerous and diverse achievements,” Robert R. Davis, vice president of University development and alumni relations, said. “Today's inductees have made exceptional contributions in their life's work and have added to the quality of life of our society and truly have added significanty to the value of a University of Delaware degree.”
The ceremony included remarks by Kathryn LaPrad, a senior double major in history and art history with minors in medieval studies and American material culture studies from Seaford, who received the 2007 Emalea Pusey Warner Award for the outstanding senior woman, and Joseph D'Agostino, a senior marketing major with a minor in political science from East Northport, N.Y., who received the 2007 Alexander J. Taylor Sr. Award for the outstanding senior man. LaPrad is a DuPont Scholar and an Alison Scholar. D'Agostino has remained on the Dean's List throughout his studies at UD and has earned an Honors Program Scholarship twice during his four years.
The new inductees, who were selected from nearly 140,000 graduates, bring to 210 the names on the wall. Among the initial Alumni Wall of Fame inductees were Revolutionary War heroes and signers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, as well as physicians, engineers and authors. Recent graduates include men and women from business, law, education, creative and performing arts, athletics, religion, politics, medicine and the military.
Allmond worked as a seed analyst for the Delaware State Board of Agriculture, as a field man for Draper Foods in Milford and for a chemical supply company before working as a lawyer for 31 years. He was president of Allmond, Eastburn and Benge from 1980-95 and served on several committees of the Supreme Court of Delaware as well as both the New Castle County Bar Association and the Delaware State Bar Association. He also is a member of the Historical Society of Delaware and the Delaware Society Sons of the American Revolution, and serves on the advisory board for the Opportunity Center Inc.
After retiring as a lawyer in 1995, Allmond turned his full attention to his third career as a nationally known sculptor of animals and nature subjects, as well as abstract forms. His work has been exhibited in the U.S., Canada, Sweden and more than 75 museums and his abstract bronze sculpture "Ode to Joy" is near the entrance to UD's Hugh M. Morris Library.
“To receive this recognition at this stage of my life is completely unexpected,” Allmond said. “For that reason, it is doubly sweet.”
Hamburg is the director of preservation programs for the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C. A recognized authority on the preservation of Jewish archival and library materials, Hamburg participated in the analysis and treatment of the Washington Haggadah at the Library of Congress. Dated 1478, it is considered to be one of the most important illuminated Jewish manuscripts in the world. Hamburg also has developed procedures for emergency preparedness and response. She traveled to Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina to assist with damaged state and regional archives and traveled to Baghdad at the request of the Coalition Provisional Authority to assess water-damaged records from the Jewish community in Iraq.
Hitchens spent more than 40 years at UD as a student, head coach, and nationally recognized athletics administrator before retiring in 2006. During her tenure, UD women's athletics teams captured three national titles, participated in national tournament competitions in several sports and captured numerous conference titles. Hitchens is a member of the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame and the University of Delaware Athletics Hall of Fame. She earned the E. Arthur Trabant Award for Women's Equity and the Katherine Ley Award, which honors women's athletics administrators who are strong proponents of women's athletics and role models for other coaches and other administrators. She was the first woman president of the America East Conference and a long-time member of UD's Athletic Governing Board.
Lancellot spent his entire 27-year career working for CUTCO Cutlery/Alcas Corp. During his eight years as president and CEO, he grew the 46-year-old company's revenue to more than $200 million from $80 million. Lancellot serves as an outside member of the board of directors for Alcas Corp. and also serves as president of the board of directors for Fiddlesticks Country Club, a homeowners' association and 36-hole golf community for more than 600 families in Fort Myers, Fla. In 2004, Lancellot was honored with the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics Alumni Award of Excellence
Taylor has worked for UD since 1974, primarily as a landscape engineer and is credited for playing a significant role in transforming the appearance of the Newark campus. He is a member of the Delaware Nursery and Landscape Assn. and is a certified Nursery Professional in Landscape Design and Turfgrass Management. In 2002 Taylor won the Delaware Nursery and Landscape Assn.'s award for the design and implementation of UD's Mentors' Circle on the Newark campus. In conjunction with Taylors of Penny Hill Flower Shop, Taylor designed and built a display that won the Society of American Florists award and the Best of Show Award at the 2006 Philadelphia Flower Show. The same team won the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Council Trophy and the Phyllis M. Craig Award at the same show in 2005.
For more information, call (302) 831-2341 or visit [www.udel.edu/alumni/awards/wof.html].
Article by Martin Mbugua
Photo by Kathy F. Atkinson